Tracking the National Bike Challenge

Is the warm weather of spring making you yearn to play outside? Yes, even Agents have to stand up from the keyboard and go to get some sun every so often. And, for me, one of the best ways to play outside is to ride my bike. I’m so inspired this spring that I will be participating in the National Bike Challenge, a program that encourages everyone to track their biking miles over the summer as a way to encourage the use of their two-wheelers.

The Challenge runs from May 1 through September 30. Participants register on the National Bike Challenge website, where they log in to record their bike rides and are awarded points for every day they ride and every mile they pedal. Everyone who registers and participates qualifies for the monthly prize drawing. Then, at the end of the challenge, participants who finished at the top of their category will qualify for additional prizes.

While you can manually track and enter your daily or weekly rides, I’m an Agent so I dug around looking for a tech approach that would make all this easier. The solutions I found not only make it easier to submit your miles, but also provide you with a wealth of other activity information you can use to pursue your health and wellness goals.

If you have a smartphone, you already have the basic hardware needed to track your ride. Several apps are available on the Android, iOS and Windows platforms to help track rides. Four apps in particular have the ability to directly sync your riding activity to the National Bike Challenge website once you setup your account:Strava, Endomondo, MapMyRide and Moves.

Most of these apps will have both free and paid versions. For new riders, the free service will use your phone’s GPS to track your ride and give you helpful information such as the total distance traveled, average speed, elapsed time and even calories consumed. Syncing with the National Bike Challenge site is included.

Paid subscriptions to those apps usually include more in-depth information for advanced riders looking to improve their rides, including segment information and the ability to record heart rate information from Bluetooth monitors like the Polar H7.

If you are looking for more information than what is available on your smartphone, there are bicycle-specific devices available. Cycling GPS units attach to a bicycle with sensors that can track speed, distance and cadence, making the data available through an easy-to-read display on your handlebars. Units like the Magellan Cyclo 315 or Garmin Edge Touring use GPS to not only track your ride, but also provide directions on pre-loaded routes. Some models include the ability to pair with a Bluetooth or ANT+ heart rate monitor.

Another great feature of any of the services used to sync to the National Bike Challenge site is their ability to share your progress with others. Most have their own community aspects, allowing you to follow (and challenge) friends, as well as share your progress with your favorite social media sites like Twitter or Facebook. Even within the National Bike Challenge site, you can create both local and national teams for schools, organizations or work. (Even Best Buy has a team).

However you track your ride, the end goal is to get out and be more active. I’ll be out there with you and my fellow Geek Squad Agents adding our miles to the totals. Good luck and be safe out there. Don’t forget your helmet.